Doug Grimm

James Douglas Grimm, known to most simply as Doug, passed away peacefully on January 1, 2026, in Missoula, Montana. He was 86 years old. Born on March 1, 1939, at Murray Hospital in Butte, Doug grew up surrounded by the rugged landscapes and resilient spirit that shaped both his life and his art.

In 1946, Doug stepped into a formative chapter of his life as he worked alongside his father, Warren Grimm, and stepmother, Jessie Akester, helping with the construction of Castle Grimm. He lived in the small shack on the lower terrace, spending those years learning to make do with what he had. That same shack would one day become Grimmstone Pottery.

Doug’s early years were shaped by curiosity, creativity, and a strong sense of community. While living in Butte, Montana, he completed Lincoln Elementary School in 1953 and later graduated from Sentinel High School in Missoula in 1957. As a teenager, he showed remarkable initiative by organizing a meeting in 1956 at the old Lincoln School in the Rattlesnake area of Missoula, Montana, a gathering that led to the formation of the city’s first Volunteer Fire Department. He helped pay his way through school by painting signs for three dollars apiece, a humble beginning to what would become a lifelong devotion to the arts.

In 1962, Doug joined the U.S. Army, serving with the 62nd 1st Engineers and later spending eight years in the Army Reserves in Missoula, achieving the rank of Specialist Fourth Class. He earned a B.A. in Secondary Education from the University of Montana in 1964 and an MFA in Art in 1966.

Doug’s artistic journey took him across the country. He worked in graphic design at the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair and spent three years in New York City working in advertising at Photo Lettering Inc. From 1967 to 1969, he collaborated with his mentor and friend Rudy Autio to build the iconic Bronze Grizzly statue that stands on the University of Montana campus, a legacy that will endure for generations.

On August 17, 1970, Doug married Anna Helen Wojciechowski, with whom he shared a life of creativity, service, and family until her passing. Together they raised their children and built a home filled with art, music, clay, and community.

During the bohemian era of Missoula in the 1970s, Doug was an active co‑creator of the Main Street store Originalities, working alongside local artists. He spent countless hours with fellow Missoula creatives, including his friend Jay Rummel, one of many artists whose company he cherished.

Doug taught ceramics at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, at the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse, and in evening classes at the University of Montana alongside Rudy Autio. After returning to Missoula, he continued teaching ceramics at Missoula Vo‑Tech for roughly a decade and later through UM Center courses. For more than 25 years, and perhaps over half a century, he taught and created pottery at Grimmstone Pottery, his beloved backyard studio on Sycamore Street, where countless students discovered the joy of working with clay.

For roughly twenty years, Doug also made much of his own clay. Some of his pottery was formed from clay he dug directly from the Missoula Valley, a labor‑intensive process he embraced with characteristic dedication. He refined, processed, and prepared the clay himself, believing that the work of making the clay was inseparable from the art it would eventually become.

His professional life was as varied as it was dedicated. Doug worked at CPI Photo Processing and Barry Smith Color Processor, served as a pressman for the Missoulian newspaper, and contributed his skills to the Carousel for Missoula from its earliest days. He was also a creative partner of Dragon Hollow. Doug gave generously of his time, serving as a Boy Scout leader for Troop 1904 for 12 years, a Brownie Scout leader with Helen for two years, and volunteering in the early years of Camp Mak‑A‑Dream.

He spent many years with his best friend Richard (Dick) Alderson restoring and maintaining the Hamilton Day Ditch, crafting careful and creative stonework that is still admired by those who walk the trail today.

Above all, Doug lived a life rooted in creativity, service, community, and storytelling. He believed in the value of making things by hand, in teaching others, and in giving back. His legacy lives on in the students he taught, the art he created, the community projects he supported, and the family he loved.

Doug is survived by his children Tyler (Alissa), Daria, and Daniel, and by his granddaughters Anna and Chloe Grimm. He is also survived by his brother Paul Dennis. He was preceded in death by his wife, Helen, and by many members of the Richardson family, including his mother, Alma Lee Richardson, and father, Warren Grimm.